“O Blessed Trinity, we thank you for having graced the church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of your fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendor of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him.

Trusting fully in your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you.

Grant us, by his intercession, and according to your will, the grace we implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered among your saints. Amen.”

After Pope John Paul’s death, Pope Benedict XVI waived the traditional five-year waiting period for the beginning of his sainthood cause. In March, CNS posted a story regarding the need for English speaking testimonials.

Here’s a look at other candidates making the news for their own sainthood causes:

— The St. Louis Reviewhas an article on the sainthood cause of Father Emil Kapaun. Father Kapuan studied at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis. He served as a military chaplain during the Korean War and was from the Diocese of Wichita, Kan. The Catholic Advance, Wichita’s diocesan paper, has a pagecontaining many of the articles it has published regarding Father Kapuan and his sainthood cause.

One of Pope John Paul and Pope Benedict’s predecessors has also made the sainthood news of late. June 17 there was an article about an upcoming Vatican exhibit and conference about the life of Pope Pius XII, whose sainthood cause was put on hold by Benedict XVI in 2007.

Other recent CNS stories include one on the exhumation of the bodies of the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux and another on a healing miracle credited to Father Damien de Veuster which recently received the Vatican’s stamp of approval.